Emissary to Muslim Nations

The state department chose Dr. Rashid Abdu ’56 to travel to American embassies in Algeria, Oman, and Yemen to speak with educators, business and religious leaders, students, and officials in those countries about his experiences as a Muslim in the United States.

In the Citizen Dialogue Program, American Muslims share their personal stories with key overseas audiences. The state department approached Abdu, who emigrated from his native Yemen to attend Lafayette, after reading his autobiography, Journey of a Yemeni Boy. He is director emeritus of surgical education at St. Elizabeth Health Center, Youngstown, Ohio.

“I discussed the diversity, the generosity of the American people, their sense of justice, tolerance, and respect for other cultures, customs, and religions. I cited examples, such as the Christian family who sponsored my pilgrimage to Mecca, another Christian family who gave me a copy of the Holy Koran for Christmas, and the Jewish physician who personally took my old, rusted car and had it painted at his own expense at a time when I had nothing. I talked to them about the scholarship from Lafayette when I had no resources to go to college,” Abdu says.

“They cannot separate the American people from foreign policy. Iraq and Palestine came up in almost every meeting in the three countries. While I was in Yemen, rockets were fired at the U.S. embassy in Sana’a, less than two miles from where I stayed. They missed the embassy but hit a girls’ school next door, killing one guard and maiming a dozen girls,” he says.

“I felt sad to see our embassies, which once were welcoming, safe, and friendly institutions, turned into little fortresses, draped in fear and uncertainty. I felt sad to see that the admiration, love, and respect people had for America are all gone.”